1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computers. More specifically, the present invention relates to personal mashups in computer systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
A mashup is a web application that combines data from more than one source into a single integrated tool. The term “mashup” implies integration, frequently done by access to open APIs and data sources to produce results that were not the original goal of the data owners. An example is the use of cartographic data from Google Maps to add location information to real-estate data, thereby creating a new and distinct web service that was not originally provided by either source.
There have been a number of such mashups created for sources that are available on the Internet. In most cases, the results of mashups are consumed as web pages by end users, although there are other mechanisms such as desktop widgets that are popular. (Widgets are another type of mashup client, apart from the browser. They are dedicated mashup apps.)
The existing mashup techniques concentrate on fusing information from multiple data sources on the Internet and presenting them to users in new, interesting ways. In the current state of the art, mashups are typically developed by skilled people and consumed by others. It is necessary to have at least minimal programming abilities in order to create a mashup and, to benefit from a particular mashup service, a user must know about the service and/or must first find the service before using it in the mashup. In addition, current mashup techniques are targeted at commonly-used services. On the other hand, individuals typically have various information needs in various situations. Moreover, when the needs/wants arise, a user often needs/wants the information at the very instant. Currently there are no mashup techniques that allow for the serving of such just-in-time personal information needs.